Cisco opens its 2nd Global Delivery Center in India at Pune

Cisco opens its 2nd Global Delivery Center in India at Pune pic.twitter.com/s30EgHiHII

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) June 16, 2016

The opening of the Global Delivery Center in Cisco’s 172,000 sq ft Pune office is a strategic move by the company to support customers globally and in India. With the new Pune centre, India will be the only country in the world where Cisco will have two global delivery centres.

@EMCcorp opens second advanced R&D Centre in #Pune India

Hopkinton Massachusetts-based EMC Corporation today inaugurated a second R&D centre in Pune India. In addition to the current EMC®Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bangalore, the new centre in Pune expands and strengthens EMC’s presence in India, including its plans to increase workforce here.
"India continues to be a key sourcefor technology innovation, outstanding engineering talent and significant business potential,” said Howard Elias, President and Chief Operating Officer, Global Enterprise Services at EMC Corporation.“Indiais important toour strategic global growth plans. The EMC COE in Pune will play an important role in helping EMC deliver comprehensive, next-generation technology solutions for our customers.”

@EMCcorp opens second advanced R&D Centre in #Pune India pic.twitter.com/TcvZgu2fNw

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) April 5, 2016

"We are confident that the new campus in Pune will help attract quality talent to help us deliver increased value to customers and partners." said Sarv Saravanan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMC Centres of Excellence, Asia Pacific Japan.

The Pune centre will supplement the EMC COE in Bangalore with added capabilities to undertake additional R&D and services work for cloud and storage technologies.

In Oct.2015 Dell Inc. announced $67 billion acquisition Of EMC Corporation.

#Persistent Systems closes acquisition of US-based #Akumina

Pune-headquartered IT services provider Persistent Systems has completed the acquisition of the digital content management solutions business of US-based Akumina. Persistent’s Venture Captial arm also announced an investment of $250,000 in Akumina’s product portfolio.

#Persistent Systems closes acquisition of US-based #Akumina pic.twitter.com/vX5LKmMg3k

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) November 18, 2015

“The acquisition fits in our strategy of digital transformation. Akumina has two businesses, it has a product platform called InterChange and a services offering in the digital content management. We have acquired the services segment. They have a decent set of enterprise customers who come on board. Our VC arm will get equity holding in Akumina,” said Anand Deshpande, CMD, Persistent System’s.

#KalyanJewellers opens its 2nd showroom in #Pune

#KalyanJewellers opens its 2nd showroom in #Pune pic.twitter.com/L3ogvysRje

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) October 25, 2015

Speaking on the occasion, T.S Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director said, “Our second showroom in Pune has been inspired by the overwhelming response to our first one on Karve Road. More than Rs. 50 crore has been invested in the Hadapsar showroom and this new space will provide easy access and convenience to our new and existing customers, who want the unique Kalyan Jewellery shopping experience. During this festive season, we have some exciting offers, privileges and benefits, and hope our customers will make the most of this opportunity. Maharashtra is an important growth driver for the business and we expect Pune to be among our top three emerging markets in the country. The company has already invested Rs. 300 crore in the state of Maharashtra and we expect demand momentum to continue,” Kalyanaraman added.

Kalyan Jewellers has been aggressively expanding its distribution network after the recent equity infusion. The company is investing Rs. 800 crore this fiscal to open 22 showrooms in India and West Asia. Kalyan Jewellers plans to enhance its distribution network by 30% and is targeting revenues of Rs. 13,000 crore by the end of the financial year.

Food Ordering App launch in #Pune

TinyOwl, Mumbai’s leading food ordering app has launched its service in the city today. The company is expanding its footprint across other cities after its overwhelming response in Mumbai.

Food Ordering App launch in #Pune pic.twitter.com/Pthc8162KW

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 7, 2015

Launched in 2014, TinyOwl has made significant inroads into the online food ordering category. The company has chosen to launch in Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurgaon after studying the consumer response, demand and supply dynamics in these markets.

Speaking on the on the launch, Mr. Harshvardhan Mandad, CEO & Co-founder, TinyOwl said, “TinyOwl will underline its presence across major restaurant partners in these cites. We are certain of being able to meet the discerining demands of our patorns in thesemarkets giving us both reach and scale. Our seamless and elegant interface replete with payment options will offer ease and convenience to customers. We will also be launching exciting offers that will keep our patrons hooked to the TinyOwl App!”.

#Geometric to open #3dprinting lab in #Pune

#Geometric to open #3dprinting lab in #pune pic.twitter.com/czKcOXN6cP
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) October 7, 2014

Geometric Ltd.today announced the signing of an MoU with College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) and Colorado State University (CSU), USA for setting up the ‘Geometric 3D Make Lab’ at the COEP premises. The lab will be open to students/faculty of all colleges as well as industry personnel and the community at large allowing them to build 3D printed objects and explore the hardware and software used in the additive manufacturing process. The Lab will be managed by the COEP.
Geometric will invest up to USD 200,000 (Rs. 1.2 Crores) over a period of three years towards setting up the lab, after which the lab is expected to be self-reliant. Geometric will also provide software expertise in the area of 3D printing, scanning, PLM, CAD and related areas; as well as projects for graduate/post graduate students on the additive manufacturing process. Colorado State University on the other hand, which already boasts a similar lab, will provide the requisite know-how in additive manufacturing, setting up a broad-access 3D printing lab, and software tools, and will be actively involved in making the lab a success.

Inauguration of Liverpool FC International Football Academy in #Pune

Liverpool FC International Football Academy – DSK Shivajians: India’s first ever international club residential football Academy was inaugurated.Reds fans in the city were in for a treat when Liverpool FC legend and former player Jamie Carragher, visited to inaugurate the Liverpool FC International Football Academy – DSK Shivajians along with Mr. Shirish Kulkarni, President Liverpool FC International Football Academy – DSK Shivajians, today.

The inauguration comes close on the heels of a recently concluded three month long nationwide scouting camp held in six cities which garnered a phenomenal response and involvement from football enthusiasts across the country.  This initiative witnessed over 2500 participants who underwent rigorous selection processes under the supervision of Liverpool FC coaches Ray Curtis and Michael Rice. The 64 best players will be finally selected to form the first intake of the Academy under-17 and under-19 age groups.

The unique partnership between Premier League team Liverpool FC and DSK Shivajians FC, brings a first-of-its kind international club residential football Academy to India, providing a major boost to this football focused infrastructure development. Set amidst green surroundings and spread over 20 acres of land, this Academy is located at the DSK International Campus at Loni, on the outskirts of Pune.

This revolutionary partnership is aimed at providing a platform for budding football talent from across India with the best environment and facilities to hone and develop their skills. This Academy is built to international standards and includes a purpose-built residential complex with 840 air conditioned and fully furnished single rooms. The Academy also features two full-size pitches, one 4G synthetic turf and one natural grass, and an outdoor swimming pool for exclusive use along with practice areas, lecture theatre, classrooms, changing rooms, a gym, canteen, convenience store and entertainment facilities. The campus is complete with 24x7 CCTV surveillance and has all the required medical facilities onsite.

On the occasion of the inauguration of the Academy Mr. Shirish Kulkarni, President Liverpool FC International Football Academy – DSK Shivajians sharing his joy said: “Today I stand here feeling extremely proud to see the dream of associating with my favourite team in the world Liverpool FC and building a world class football Academy in India turn into reality. The country is now embracing the potential of this sport and today we are witnessing growing interest in terms of its acceptance and the investments being made. We hope to contribute significantly with this venture. With the world class facilities, infrastructure and supervision of coaches from Liverpool FC we are confident of nurturing the talent right here and creating a true legacy in the country."

Under the Academy programme, specific and intensive football coaching will be provided to the final shortlisted 64 players who will form two groups of Under-17s and Under-19s. Players at the Academy will be developed by a dedicated team of UEFA qualified coaches from Liverpool FC along with other specialists from various allied fields such as strength and conditioning, sports psychology and education.

Ardeshir Jeejeebhoy, CEO Liverpool FC International Football Academy - DSK Shivajians on this occasion said:"India undoubtedly has huge football potential; which is why we partnered with the Premier League club – Liverpool FC, to create a global standard Academy. The course which will be offered at the Academy is going to help fine-tune our young players’ techniques and enhance their performances on the pitch. The selected boys will be trained the same way as they are at Liverpool FC and will be given the opportunity to develop the technical, tactical, physical and social aspects of their game".

“I was at Liverpool’s Academy for six years before I went on to playing in the first team for 17 years. I know first-hand how important it is to have the right development as a young player to fulfill your potential” said Jamie Carragher.

“The players, who will make up the U-17s and U-19s squads, will follow Liverpool’s philosophies both on and off the pitch. The kids are from all over the country and some of them have been awarded scholarships so this will be a life-changing experience for them. The Academy back in Liverpool is very close to my heart so it’s great to be here today and be part of the opening of India’s first international residential football academy” he added.

Newly formed Industry Body i4C Announces Idea Challenge

 i4C (Inter-Institutional Inclusive Innovations Centre) is a non-profit organization, established to support high potential innovations and make them market ready. i4C is based on a unique Public-Private-People-Media Partnership Model and is a joint effort of multiple individuals, institutes and companies who share a common goal of promoting the culture of innovation in India. The primary objective of i4C is to scout, showcase and mentor technology innovators and help them take to market innovations that have the potential to positively impact the quality of life of our citizens.

 As part of these efforts, i4C announced the i4C Idea Challenge-2014, a pan-India Idea and Innovation competition with the objective to identify disruptive ideas for solving problems relevant to a large cross-section of our population. The i4C Idea Challenge-2014 is open for all and ideas can be submitted online at www.i4C.co.in.  The last date for submission of Ideas is 31st Oct. 2014.

 Dr. Anand Deshpande, Founding Director of i4C and Chairman and Managing Director, Persistent Systems on the occasion of the launch said, “I am excited about the formation of i4C.  We have a large number of innovators in our country who have ideas that are simply outstanding.  It is our responsibility to build an eco-system to help these innovators take their ideas through various stages of development and to ensure that they can be mass-produced for the citizens of our country. I am delighted that i4C has made helping inventors its mission.”

 Second Founding Director, Dr. Arun Jamkar, Vice Chancellor, MUHS said, “Through ‘i4C Idea challenge’, an attempt is being made to systematically harness the creativity and energy of our youth; the ‘real demographic dividend’ for solving problems of our nation”. He further added, “All the submitted ideas will be thoroughly screened through a multi-stage review mechanism and the truly innovative ideas will be felicitated, showcased and promoted aggressively. Possibility of funding the selected ideas would also be explored through the i4C network.”

 Some prominent members supporting i4C include Dr. Arun Jamkar, Vice Chancellor, MUHS, Nashik; Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman, CEO & MD, Persistent Systems; Mrs. Pratima Kirloskar, President, Innovations Society, Kirloskar Brothers; Mr. Ravi Pandit, Chairman & CEO, KPIT; Mr. Hemant Joshi, Partner, Deloitte; Mr. Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO, Zensar; Mr. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries; Mr. Vivek Sawant, Managing Director, Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL); Dr. Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Director, COEP; Mr. Sunil Karad, Executive Director, MIT;  Mrs. Swati Mujumdar, Director of Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning and Principal Director of Symbiosis Open Education Society, Symbiosis; Mr. Pradeep Bhargava, Director, Cummins India Ltd; Mr. Ajay Phatak, Vice President & Pune Center Head, Symphony Teleca; Mr. Abhay Gadgil, Partner, PN Gadgil and Sons; and Mr. Prataprao Pawar, Chairman, Sakal Media Group.


Mission of i4C:

·         Productizing 100 innovations for positively impacting lives of 1.2 billion Indians in next 3 years.
·         Jump start an ‘Innovation Movement’ for transforming India.
·         Celebrating the ability of Indians to innovate under constraints.
·         Establishing the best and biggest platform in India for innovators to showcase their innovations to various funding agencies, industrial houses and masses.
·         Encouraging Indian society to think ‘out of the box’ through ‘i4C Grand Challenge’ and ‘i4C Idea Challenge’.
·         Harnessing the power of science, technology, and creativity to develop affordable and quality products.

About i4C:

Inter-Institutional Inclusive Innovations Centre (i4C) is an independent, public, non-profit organization. ‘i4c’ solicits innovative ideas that can solve major problems faced by our nation and has potential to improve the quality of life of people, especially at the base of the social pyramid. The organization aims to search and sponsor technology innovations in the fields of Healthcare and Diagnostics, Water and Energy conservation, Information Technology, Engineering, Environment, Defense and Agriculture. i4C works relentlessly to promote a culture of innovation in India, by crowdsourcing new ideas and supporting them until they become commercially viable.

Pharande Spaces Holds Channel Partner Event in #Pune

Pharande Spaces, the pre-eminent development and construction firm in Pune's thriving Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, recently conducted the largest-ever channel partner meet. The event, conceived to highlight Pharande Spaces' latest luxury township offering Puneville in Punavale, drew more than held 500 property brokers and real estate consultants from the Estate Agents Association of Pune (EAAP), India's first and largest real estate agents association.
The first phase of Puneville consists of 16 towers, each with 23 storeys of exclusive and uniquely crafted living spaces. The entire project has been designed with a luxury resort theme. Marketing & Sales director Akash Pharande proceeded with a theatre presentation walk-through of Puneville, providing a detailed graphic overview of the project's 2, 3 and 4 bedroom luxury apartments. The attendees also marvelled over Puneville's product gallery, which provides a unique WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) perspective of the highest-quality imported and Indian fittings, fixtures and marble flooring used in the project.

The highlight of the evening was a project and product presentation by representatives from Aedas India. This was followed by an intense Q&A session which provided further clarity on Puneville and its avant-garde luxury features. The evening wound up with cocktails and dinner to the background of a celebrity entertainment performance by Bollywood singer Akriti Kakkar.

Calsoft Grows with Pune

Calsoft, an award-winning product development and engineering services company with niche expertise in Storage, Networking, Virtualization, and Cloud has not only attained a consistent growth rate of 50% YoY since the past 3 years, but has also carved its name among the ‘Socially Responsible & Active’ companies in Pune.

Continuing its growth spree, CalSoft broke the 50cr barrier in 2012-2013 and is on track to break the 100cr barrier next financial year. With its work force tripling from 150 employees in 2011 to over 550, Calsoft has no plans to slow down. Its upcoming facility in Bavdhan is planned in two stages. The first stage will be complete this quarter and will house all the 500+ employees. At the end of 2nd stage, it is expected to accommodate over 1200 engineers. Hinjewadi being an IT hub of Pune, CalSoft decided to expand there with a new office to diversify into a new niche.

On the occasion, Dr Anupam Bhide, CEO, Calsoft said, “It is an exciting move for Calsoft, and we look at this new location as the new milestone in our growth story. I want to thank Calsoft staff for their support through the years and with the move.” He further added, “We are growing and need a bigger space to house our employees. As part of our long term strategy, we want to diversify in new areas and we chose Hinjewadi to expand as this area has undergone a real transformation in past few years, becoming the IT hub of Pune.”

Calsoft truly believes that growth is for everyone hence determined to help less privileged sections of the society to grow with them. The primary goal of CSR is to enable class mobility. It is necessary to help less privileged sections of society to move up and to lead more meaningful life. With a consistent focus towards CSR, Calsoft supported engineering students who excelled in their academics but needed financial aid to complete their graduation. Today, as they are graduates these students are working for many well-known software companies all over the country. Being an active and a responsible company, Calsoft gives back to the society with its Scholarship programs which provides financial aid to academically strong students who are in need of financial assistance to complete their basic degree in Engineering. A few of them who are now settled well and are working in companies all over the country. Ever since its inception, under the Calsoft Scholarship Program (CSP), the company has helped more than 75 students till date.
Speaking to the CFO and Co-Founder, Mrs. Sharmila Bhide, says “Every company initiates the CSR program, but we at Calsoft believe in delivering value, by ensuring the student maintains good scores throughout its academic years to be eligible to be funded further. This motivates the students to put in their 200% and in the longer run we impart knowledge that would always help them in life”

Calsoft also initiates yearly drives to NGOs like Manavya, which is among the first few NGOs in India to understand the ramifications of HIV/AIDS epidemic, and manages a bunch of 70 kids – all of them special in their own ways despite of being HIV infected. During Christmas very year, Calsoft visits Manavya and helps bring a smile on their faces.It’s said don’t feed the needy; teach them to fish, which will help them much more than just a onetime meal.

About Calsoft:
Established in 1998, Calsoft is recognized as an award-winning technology company, specializing in software product engineering services with niche expertise in Storage, Networking, Virtualization, and Cloud. With highly skilled resources, innovative business models, and reusable Accelerators IP, Calsoft helps its customers to minimize time-to-market, improve quality, reduce risk of failure, and enhance brand value. In addition, we help you to improve predictability and reliability of engineering processes while minimizing over-all engineering costs. Companies from Silicon Valley start-ups to Fortune 500 Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) or software enabled businesses, entrust us with important, often critical pieces of their technology and products. What make us different are our approach, attitude, technological edge, and focus.

Outlook For The Indian Residential Sector 2014

Residential real estate remains the focal point of Indian real estate, regardless of market conditions. Considering the massive demand for homes in the country, this is hardly surprising. However, demand does not equal absorption in a price-sensitive country like India, where the greatest requirement for residential properties stems from the EWS and middle-income group. The high dependence on home loans by the salaried class underscores the price sensitivity factor even further.

All said and done, 2013 was not a good year for India's residential real estate market. The sluggishness was most pronounced in the prime cities. Thanks to resurgence in employment-driven market sentiments and the arrival of a number of right-priced residential projects, Pune proved to be a notable exception. The city showed a very healthy demand for mid-priced residential properties throughout 2013 and on into the first quarter of 2014.

The reasons for the generalized slowdown in most Indian cities are not hard to guess - inflation led to decreased purchasing power and financial confidence, while the RBI went through the ceiling with its spate of hikes in interest rates. This obviously led to a steep rise in the EMIs that home loan borrowers had to bear. Property prices remained high in most cities, largely because developers were hit hard by the vastly increased costs of construction and debt.

At the same time, the potential for most salaried people in the country to switch to more lucrative jobs took a nosedive because of the fallout of the economic crisis in the developed countries. All this combined to bring about a sort of stalemate between developers and property buyers in cities where inventory as well as property rates remained high - most notably Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

Though often made out to be the villains of the piece, there is no escaping the fact that India's residential real estate developers had their backs against the wall in 2013. Because of the rising input costs and compromised sales, they were prevailed upon to cut back on project launches. In line with the need of the hour, those that did happen were mostly in the mid-income and budget homes segments. Luxury housing took a severe body blow and movement of premium and super-luxury properties in the metros slowed down considerably. Only affordable to mid-range homes continued to sell - often on the basis of unofficial, project-specific discounts.

Through it all, residential developers pinned their hopes on the Diwali festival season, which usually brings with it a 25-30% rise in home purchases a month or so before it actually arrives. In anticipation of the coming demand, they kept their stated prices steady; instead of hard discounts, many smaller developers offered freebies and add-on incentives. Some centrally located projects even showed marginal increases. The 'freebie' strategy failed noticeably, with home purchases increasing by no more than 10-12%. By and large, the sales that did happen took place on the basis of discounts wrangled on the negotiation table.

In the early part of 2014, sentiments on the Pan-India residential property market will remain cautious, but cities which offer better affordability and returns on investment will pick up. The ratio of sales over inventory in overpriced cities will remain more or less equally balanced. However, certain suburban pockets in cities like Pune and Chennai that are seeing real-time infrastructure enhancements will show price rises.

Also, because of the high demand for ready-to-move-in residential properties in all major cities, there will be price increases to be seen in projects that are being delivered or are close to completion. The mid-end and affordable housing segments will record healthy appreciation in capital values in the short term from a low base. The provisions made for this segment in the recent interim budget to help the affordable housing sector have paved the way for increased activity in 2014.
 
By Arvind Jain, Managing Director - Pride Group

IHEPA’s third annual conference

Indian Health Economics and Policy Association (IHEPA) in collaboration with Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and The Azim Premji University will be organizing a two day conference on “Health for All to Universal Health Coverage: Journey so far and challenges ahead”, at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics here on January 6 and 7, 2014. Special inaugural address will be delivered by Dr.Pavitra Mohan, Basic Healthcare Trust, Udaipur.

The conference will focus on Healthcare in India: Progress and Challenges towards Universal Healthcare Care, Human Resources for Health in Universal Health Care, future challenges and opportunities. Professionals and academicians will present their papers during the conference. In all, about 50 papers will be presented during the conference that will have parallel sessions in progress.

Mr. Selvaraju, Secretary, IHEPA said Indian Health Economics and Policy Association attempts to bring together researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders working in the area of health economics to come together and discuss policy related issues, share their knowledge and experiences to improve the policy making process in India.

He observed that the key aspect of health sector in the coming years is universal healthcare coverage which is more critical. “We need to empower people towards achieving better health,” he said.

About IHEPA

The Indian Health Economics and Policy Association (IHEPA) is a registered society under the Society's Registration Act 1960. The registered office & Secretariat of IHEPA is at the Centre for Multidisciplinary Development Research (CMDR), Dharwad, Karnataka. IHEPA welcomes young scholars and researchers, public health experts, grassroots practitioners, the private sector and community-based organizations to become part of the organization, so that all views and experiences can be heard, debated and imbibed, if found useful.

About Gokhale Institute

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), commonly known as Gokhale Institute, is one of the oldest research and training institutes in Economics in India. The Institute was set up with an objective to conduct research on the economic and political problems of India and to train research workers in these disciplines.

About Azim Premji University

Azim Premji University has a clear social purpose – of working towards a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society.  The University is committed towards developing outstanding professionals for the education and development sectors in India, conducting contextually relevant research in these fields and strengthening the capacities of existing professionals through high quality continuing education programmes.

MESTECH Services announces ISO 9001 certification of its Quality Management System

MESTECH Services (MESTECH), a leading global supplier of Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) / Manufacturing Execution (MES) solutions, announced today that its Quality Management System – MESTQ™ (MES Total Quality) is now ISO 9001-2008 certified. The certification covers all the core processes needed to deliver quality solutions and services: Business Development, Project Initiation, Design & Development, Internal Testing, Integration & Testing, Release, and Support.
Customer satisfaction is the core of MESTQ™. It is designed to deliver the highest quality solutions and services on-time and within budget. Transparency and auditability is maintained throughout all processes, starting from initial proposal stage through customer support phases.
“In a highly regulated industry such as life sciences, compliance is a key driver for all decisions related to supplier selection. Very stringent quality standards and procedures are in place for procuring products and services. It is imperative that supplier’s products and services adhere to the strict guidelines and have been thoroughly validated. A well thought of Quality Management System builds confidence in the supplier and can also help support successful closure of audits” – Mr. N. Thyagarajan, Consultant – Life Sciences Industry.
MESTQ™ comprises of core business processes and key support processes which convert inputs to value added outputs to achieve business objectives. These core business processes are integral to the business functions of MESTECH. The effectiveness of these core processes is enhanced and supplemented by support processes, which span across the entire organization. This in turn provides a clear focus on the requirements that are critical for a business to be successful.

“At MESTECH, quality has always been an integral part of processes, solutions and services.  As a matter of fact, quality has been embraced across the organization as a way of life. Today, the formalization of our expression of quality – MESTQ™ – is a significant milestone that communicates this commitment to all our external stakeholders.” – Mr. Yatin Sankholkar, Director of Life Sciences at MESTECH.
“Our commitment to quality is not limited only to the regulated industry. Our methodology helps customers in various industries like Automotive and Discrete unlock the unrealized value in their business operations, and achieve increased revenues at significantly reduced operating costs.” – Rodney Neal, Business Manager, NA at MESTECH.Additional information on MESTQ™ is available at www.mestechservices.com

About MESTECH Services
MESTECH Services is a leading global supplier of Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) / Manufacturing Execution (MES) solutions.  The company is a Recognized System Integrator with Rockwell Automation and has extensive experience in applying Rockwell Software based solutions in Automotive, General Discrete, and Life Sciences, Electronics and CPG industries. The company is headquartered in Pune, India and has a North American office at  Greenville, SC.  For additional information please visit www.mestechservices.com.

NASSCOM Game Developer Conference 2013 in Pune

Indian gaming industry has been witnessing rapid change, and has been evolving over the past few years. Given the huge potential for gamming in India, The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is holding the fifth edition of the NASSCOM Game Developer Conference (NGDC) on the 16th and 17th of November in Pune. The conference is structured entirely in collaboration with the industry, with an advisory board and content selection committee comprising of studio heads of major game companies in India.

To recognize achievements in game development in India and encourage the creation of intellectual property, NASSCOM is also organizing the first edition of the NGF Award. The debut edition of the awards was closed for nominations on 30 September and received an overwhelming response. In total, NASSCOM has received a total of 65 nominations for the three broad categories; Indie game of the year (25 nominations received), Student game of the year (13 nominations received) and Game of the year (27 nominations received). The entries will be evaluated on the basis of online user voting and will also be adjudged by a jury, who will be reviewing games created on platform including Android, iOS, PC & physical board games. Winners of the contest will be announced at the conference, and will be awarded Rs.1,00,000 and Rs.50,000 respectively for the indie game of the year and student game of the year categories.

Expressing his views on the Conclave, Mr. Rajesh Rao, Chair, NASSCOM Gaming Forum, said, India is set to witness a huge surge in the international gaming arena and the key here is to provide encouragement to our game developer talent and provide them a platform to help them grow & showcase their products. This year, we are also excited about the NGF awards, which will be a good inspiration for game developers in the country. We are extremely pleased with the response that we have received in terms of entries.”

On the sidelines of the conference, NASSCOM will also be organizing activities like “Bring your own Game” (BYOG), Game Showcase Trailers, Indie Elevator Pitch and Adobe Game Jam. NGDC is an annual event organized by the industry body for the advancement of interactive gaming entertainment through talks, panels, super-pitches, tutorials and more, the NGDC is aimed at bringing to the forefront the exciting gaming eco-system that exists in India.

About NASSCOM

NASSCOM (www.nasscom.in) is India's National Association of Software and Service Companies, the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT software and services industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with nearly 1300 members, of which over 250 are global companies from the US, UK, EU, Japan and China. NASSCOM's member companies are in the business of software development, software services, software products, IT-enabled/BPO services and e-commerce. NASSCOM has been the strongest proponent of global free trade in India.

NASSCOM is committed to work proactively to encourage its members to adopt world class management practices, build and uphold highest quality standards and become globally competitive. In India and around the world, NASSCOM members are participants in the new global economy and are reputed for their cutting-edge business practices and social initiatives.
 

Tenneco Inc inaugurates new manufacturing facility in Chakan, near Pune

Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN) today announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Chakan near Pune, India.  The 13,000 sqm facility is located close to key customers in the Pune region including Volkswagen, General Motors, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.  It will produce emission control products and systems and supply ride performance products on a just in time (JIT) basis. The Chakan facility is Tenneco’s sixth manufacturing location in India.

Mr. Mahesh Kodumudi, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India and members of Tenneco’s senior management inaugurated the facility during a ceremony earlier today.

“We are proud of this facility with its state-of-the art manufacturing processes and capabilities and efficient production lines,” said Hari Nair, chief operating officer, Tenneco.  “Our investment here reflects Tenneco’s commitment to India and our plans for continued growth in this dynamic market, in both the automotive and commercial vehicle industries.”

The Chakan facility is equipped with the latest converter canning technology, robotic welding and assembly and highly automated muffler manufacturing lines.  The facility also has a modular assembly line for ride performance products which it supplies to Pune-based OEMs.  It also supplies clean air products to commercial vehicle customers SML Isuzu and Ag Tractors.

Tenneco intends to grow in Pune with the Chakan facility, which has the capacity to produce more than 2,500 exhaust systems daily.  This capacity can be easily increased using available space.  In addition, the company has plans to establish Chakan as the Indian hub for developing and testing technologies for India-specific clean air programs.

Sagar Hemade, managing director, Tenneco India, said: “We have the expertise and advanced technologies to meet the increasing demand from our customers for advanced aftertreatment systems to comply with stricter emissions regulations, which are driving growth here in India.”

Tenneco currently employs over 350 people in Chakan. “We expect that number to increase as we grow our operations, including adding engineering capabilities, and continue to win new business,” Hemade added.

Tenneco is a $7.4 billion global manufacturing company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois and approximately 25,000 employees worldwide.  Tenneco is one of the world’s largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of clean air and ride performance products and systems for automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment markets and the aftermarket.  Tenneco’s principal brand names are Monroe®, Walker®, XNOx™ and Clevite®Elastomer.

VMWARE ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF ITS OPERATIONS IN PUNE

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure today announced the expansion of its operations in Pune. The company has leased an additional area of 26,391 square feet at the Bajaj Brandview building in Wakdewadi, Pune, where VMware already has a presence. The expansion will allow VMware to accommodate an additional 185 employees who will contribute to VMware’s innovations in R&D. The Pune centre currently employs 200 employees who play a key role in supporting VMware’s global operations.

VMware’s India-based R&D and support operations are second in size and scale only to those at the company’s headquarters located in Palo Alto, California, U.S. VMware’s R&D operations in India make a significant contribution to the company’s portfolio of virtualization and cloud computing products, all designed to help VMware customers navigate the journey to a new era of IT. Developers in Bangalore and Pune contribute important components of VMware’s key technologies – the software-defined data center, hybrid cloud and end-user computing.

VMware’s center in Pune has seen consistent growth through both hiring and acquisitions and has emerged as a key hub for innovation in the areas of network and security virtualization for VMware globally. “VMware prides itself on the innovations its R&D teams continually deliver across the globe’” said T Srinivasan, managing director, VMware India & SAARC. “Our R&D team in Pune has delivered many innovations in the areas of networking and security, key components of our Software Defined Data Center strategy, and we are pleased to grow our operations here.”

In March, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger announced a multi-year investment of $120 million to fund the company’s expansion in Bangalore. VMware established a presence in India in 2005 and today serves about 3,000 customers, employs some 2,000 staff and works with 100 partners. Over the last eight years, offices have been opened in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, with R&D centers in Bangalore and Pune.
 
About VMware
VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2012 revenues of $4.61 billion, VMware has more than 500,000 customers and 55,000 partners.  The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.